Promises
by x-Usagi-chan-x
Summary: There are no boundaries such as war between brothers. Yao/Kiku, China/Japan brotherly fluff. Rated T for swearing.
1. Promises I

**Hetalia (c) Hidekaz Himaruya**

**Yao & Kiku brotherly fluff. God, I love writing about these two...**

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><p>"<em>Okaeri<em>, Nii-sama," Kiku greeted his older brother as he heard the door close shut and the shuffling sound of dragging feet. "Welcome home."

"Hmm, you're early," Yao muttered, leaning against the door frame to the kitchen. "What are you doing here anyway, aru? Aren't you supposed to be devising plans to ambush the Allied Forces with your new friends?"

Kiku ignored his brother's sarcasm. "I thought Nii-sama might be tired after the meeting, so I decided I would cook tonight."

"I can cook for myself, aru."

"I can do it." Then he added lightly, "It's not like I'm going to poison it or anything."

"Hm." But the chocolate-haired Chinese did not utter a complaint. Instead he flew himself down on the futon in the living room adjacent to the kitchen. He had a clear view through the frame of the door. The short, jet black-haired man's back was to him as he busily cut away at the vegetables that piled on the counter. From his perspective, he wouldn't have been able to see if the raven really was poisoning his food, but his mind had wandered to other much more important affairs. It went back to a couple hours ago, when he had been discussing - or at least, attempting to discuss - with the four other countries who, along with him, made up the Allied Forces. He heaved a big sigh as he remembered the impact it had brought to him, draining all of his energy and emotions.

"Is something the matter, Nii-sama?" Kiku inquired from where he chopped. "You just sighed. Did the meeting not go well?"

Yao only smirked and said, "Don't think you'll be getting any information out of _me_, aru."

"I'm not trying to get information," Kiku replied. He turned around and gave his older brother the slightest grin. "After all, we swore to each other to not talk about our side's plans, right? That's what brothers are for."

"Yeah well, I hope you know that you technically aren't my real brother. I found you in a bamboo forest."

"Only a better reason for me to keep my promises to you, Nii-sama."

Yao frowned, and he leaned back on the futon and closed his eyes, clasping his hands together behind him so that his head rested on them and he was facing the cieling. "So how's life as an ally of the Axis Powers?"

"Fine. Everything's fine, Nii-sama."

"You don't seem at all fazed of the fact that we're at war."

"It's a little tough, I admit. But Ludwig-san is a very strong and tactful man, so I feel as though it's easy being his ally."

"And Feliciano?"

"Feli-chan is... Feli-chan."

"Ah."

"And what about the Allied Forces?"

Yao frowned. His mind again wandered back to the meeting. "The Allied Forces? Hm... well, to be blunt, they're all assholes."

"I see."

"Especially that damn Alfred," he muttered on. "Him and his large ego and stupid hero shit. He thinks he can just blow us all away and make his own plans... How about he just fight the damn war himself? And Arthur and Francis are _constantly_bickering with each other... It's annoying as hell. I almost feel like they're doing it just for bickering's sake. It seems we get absolutely nil done at the meetings. And don't get me started on that Ivan... he's always trying to -"

"Nii-sama, you're doing it again."

"Doing what?"

"Rambling... about your allies."

"Ah, dammit. Pretend you didn't hear anything I said."

Kiku smiled. "Don't worry about it, Nii-sama. We made another promise to each other, remember?"

"Aiya, how many promises have I made with you?"

"We promised that if any top secret information about our allies does leak out, it stays top secret. We would not speak of it at all to our own allies."

"You'd really betray Ludwig and Feliciano like that?"

"'Betray' seems like a strong word, but then... I don't know, maybe it isn't. Yes, perhaps I would. Because if I betrayed my own brother, it would only hurt me more."

Yao only gave a slight chuckle. "There you go again, calling me 'brother' as if we're actually related..." However, Kiku's words once again brought back the events of the Allied Forces meeting that day, but this time, it was brought at full force. The reason why he felt so tired, so emotionally drained, so _empty_...

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><p>"Those damn Axis assholes!" Alfred's fist slammed down on the table; the vibrations of the impact knocking down all the teacups that stood on top. Arthur gave out a yelp when all the hot tea flowed all over the table, and into his lap. However, the force of the impact had been a double-edged sword; Alfred collapsed onto his knees, one arm clutching a heavily bandaged side and the other over his mouth, coughing harshly.<p>

"Alfred!" Francis had reached him first. He knelt down besides the caramel-haired man with a hand rubbing his back lightly. The French man's voice was strained with concern as he asked, "Are you all right?"

"I'm... fine," Alfred replied. He wiped at his mouth where blood had dribbled down.

"You look awful, you lying git," Arthur muttered from where he busily wiped away at his tea-soaked jacket with a handkerchief. "That would must still be healing. Don't strain yourself."

"It _was_quite a devestating attack," Francis murmured. "I did not know Kiku had it in him to attack your naval base like that. It seems as though he pulled you into the war and now you cannot get yourself out."

"I thought he was my friend..." Alfred's hands balled into tight fists. "But I guess he's just another cold-hearted bastard, like that son-of-a-bitch Ludwig..."

"In war, there are no friendships, especially not ones with your enemies." said the soft voice of the blonde Englishman from behind.

"Then I guess I have no choice..." With the support of Francis and the table, Alfred was able to slowly but painfully stand up and face the rest of the allies; the old hero light slowly creeping back into his eyes. "That rice-eating bastard's gonna fucking pay," he growled. "So listen to me in my hero voice! That damn Kiku - and even those other Axis Powers dickfaces - think they can just sneak in and catch us off-guard like that? I won't just let him bomb my most important naval base then leave without a fight. And since all of your ideas are probably stupid and mine's the best, I have the perfect conclusion; a conclusion that can even end the war if everything goes as planned." And suddenly the light in his blue eyes not burn with heroism, but with cold resentment and hard determination. "An eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth, right?"

And with that, he pulled out from inside his jacket a white sheet of paper, slightly crumpled from nearly being crushed to its death. He swiped it down the table for all to see.

A silence fell into the room as the allies concentrated on the paper, which quickly became grim and heavy as the words processed in their minds and they finally began to understand the contents of the document.

Arthur was the first to break the oppressing quiet. "Are you... mad?"

Yao stood up so abruptly that his chair fell, and he slammed both hands on the table, which further clattered the teacups and made them crash to the floor. "I won't allow it!"

"You think I wanted this to happen at first?" The American's arm waved at the contract in a wide, angry gesture. "My boss was the one who issued this after the Pearl Harbor attack. I tried to protest at first, but then I realized, maybe this is the true way to end the war..."

"Are you crazy, aru?" Yao roared. "This is no way to end a war! This could be considered murder!"

"Yao's right," Arthur replied seriously. "Alfred...You could kill him."

"We're countries. We're immortal. He won't die."

"But this is something that no man with a right mind has ever done in history. The destruction is just too great."

"Yes, Alfred," Francis agreed. "There must be an alternative of some sort."

"What alternative?" Alfred snapped. "We're at war here; there are no alternatives. And since I'm the hero, what I say goes!"

"Mr. Alfred, as much as I like the idea of crushing Mr. Kiku to death..." Ivan Braginsky had been calmly sitting at the corner of the table this whole time, and he was the only one who had not reacted a bit after Alfred's plan to end the war and take revenge on Kiku was revealed. Instead, he had watched his allies with a slightly amused smile that seemed to have been permanently plastered to his round, suspiciously sweet face. "But I think you should look back at how times had been during the Cold War. You should remember that we gave the world quite a scare with our threats to each other, da? Besides, I have a list of much more interesting and especially gruesome ways of defeating Mr. Kiku and the other Axis Powers if you'd like to hear them."

"Yes, Alfred, you should listen to - erm, never mind, don't listen to Ivan." Arthur eyed the Russian warily.

"I won't let you do this," Yao snarled. "This is just too extreme."

"It's called 'eye for an eye', Yao."

"Eye for an eye, my ass! This 'eye' you American scum always speak of; it never is an eye, but always something much worse. And in this terrible time we are in right now, there is no time for any 'eye'. It will only bring too many casualties and disaster to this war. You really think doing this to Kiku will accomplish anything, aru?"

"Don't forget..." Alfred spoke defiantly. "...what Arthur said about there being no friendships in wars, especially with your enemies. You should know that counts for siblings too."

"This has nothing to do with Kiku being my brother. This has to do with saving the world from your stupidity!"

"_My_stupidity? ...Did you ever mention at all to us that you happen to still live with your brother?"

"Are you questioning my loyalty?"

"Well it just seems a bit odd, you know. Two rivals living in the same house. I thought you two hated each other, but I guess I was wrong."

"I told you; being brothers has nothing to do with this!"

"So what have you told him?"

"I have told him nothing, and you know it! If I did, we wouldn't all be here now, would we?"

"How do you know? Maybe he secretly popped a mic in your coat, and now everything we're saying is being recorded..."

"This is getting ridiculous."

"What's ridiculous is the fact that he was the one who stabbed you in the back - _literally_ - and yet you still had the slightest sliver of forgiveness to keep living with him? And now that you're still enemies, but still live with each other? How weak _are _you, really?"

"That's it! I'm leaving, aru."

"Yao, please -" Arthur tried to say, but Alfred immediately cut him off.

"Fine, go cry to your little brother. I don't care. It's not like you were ever that trustworthy of a country anyway. Let alone have any sense of dignity."

"Dignity, aru? Should you really be the one speaking of dignity, when you are the one who has none? If you really did have any sense of pride or dignity, or even humility, you would not be the one sending the bombs. I won't allow you to do this, Alfred." And Yao slammed the door to the faces of the Allied Forces.

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><p>"Nii-sama? ...Nii-sama, are you okay?"<p>

Kiku's soft, concerned voice pulled Yao back into reality. He was standing in front of him with the same coffee-brown, anxious eyes as the first day he ever found him in that bamboo forest; small, alone, frightened. But this time, the fear was for his older brother, who in his mind looked like he was about to faint on the spot.

"Nii-sama, you look pale. Please lay back down and rest, and I will bring you a warm bowl of sukiyaki."

"..."

"Nii-sama?"

"...You said, that whatever is said in this house, stays in this house, aru?"

"Of course, Nii-sama. Now please rest."

"And that's a promise?"

"Hai."

"...Pinky promise?"

"Pinky... what?"

"Pinky promise. Alfred does this all the time. He says it seals the promise or something."

"Ah, um... yes, I... I pinky promise." Their pinky fingers intertwined.

When they let go, Yao took a deep, shaky breath, and said, "Alfred is planning to bomb you."

"Wha -" The shock was clear on the younger man's face.

"He wants revenge because you attacked Pearl Harbor."

"But -"

"I'm sorry, Kiku. None of the Allies agree with this; not even Ivan, surprisingly enough. But I'm sure you know how stubborn Alfred can be..."

Kiku sighed and with a defeated tone, "Then I guess I must take it like a man. After all, I did cause Alfred-san to get involved in the war..."

Yao gasped. "You're going to give up and let him do this to you?"

"There is no other choice. I can't stop him, Nii-sama."

"Kiku, was it your idea to bomb Alfred?"

"...No, Nii-sama. My boss issued it. I didn't want to, but I couldn't disobey his orders..."

Yao grabbed both of his shoulders. "Then all the more reason for you to not let him bomb you! Can't you see, Kiku? He's going to send _nuclear bombs_."

"Nuclear... bombs?"

"Yes."

"Alfred-san would really..."

"Yes."

"...I see." Kiku closed his eyes, then he opened them again and looked up at his older brother with sorrow in their coffee-brown depths. He said grimly, "I'm sorry, Nii-sama. I still can't do anything. I just can't."

Yao's fingers dug into the raven's shoulders, gripping harder. "Are you crazy? You could _die!_"

"Ow... N-Nii-sama... that hurts..."

"Just give up the war," the older brother only begged. "Just resign from the Axis Powers and he won't hurt you."

"I... I can't do that, Nii-sama. I cannot betray Ludwig-san and Feli-chan like that."

"Then do it for me."

Kiku only smiled and murmured softly, "I am doing it for you, Nii-sama. I cannot let you get hurt just because we are enemies in this war."

"I don't care if we're supposed to be enemies!" Yao snapped. "I will do anything in my power to stop this. Even if it causes the Allies to completely lose trust in me, even if I become their enemy. I cannot allow this to happen. I will stop it."

"Nii-sama..."

"That is a promise."

Kiku stared at his older brother with wide brown eyes, then they quickly softened as he inquired, "Nii-sama, why are you telling me all of this?"

"Eh? Ah, um..." Yao pursed his lips, realizing what he'd done. "I...it's not like... well, I... I did it to save the world from Alfred's sorry ass of course. It's not like... I did it... because we're brothers or anything..." His voiced trailed off, and he turned his face away, afraid that Kiku would see the blush.

"...Ah, I see."

"Yes..."

"...And Nii-sama?"

"What is it, Kiku?"

"...Thank you."

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><p><strong>I apologize if the historic timeline is incorrect... and for Alfred being such an asshole... ;u;<strong>

**EDIT: I FEEL LIKE A HUGE IDIOT. ;u; Yes, I now know that the Cold War came AFTER WWII. Why I thought it was before it, I have no idea... So yeah, the whole part with Ivan talking, ignore it. I was totally wrong.**


	2. Promises II

**Part II of Promises! Little shorter, but hope you enjoy. I think writing this made me realize how much I enjoy writing about brotherly love...**

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><p>"Is he all right?"<p>

The frantic question was all Yao could breath out to the fair-skinned, chestnut girl whom he had nearly barraged into when he erupted through the door.

The dreadful news came to him this morning, during yet another meeting of the Allied Forces. It had reached him before anyone in the room had been able to utter a single word or greeting to the Chinese man. From the triumphant glow from Alfred and the piteous gazes the others had fell on him as he walked into the room, Yao knew. He knew. And it summoned nearly all of his self-restraint from punching that American bastard in the mouth and snarling at the others and wiping the sorry looks off their faces. Instead, he had merely risen quietly from his seat, mumbled a "I must go home" and strode out of the room.

Now he felt as though he was on fire. His lungs burned from running, and sweat dripped down his forehead in which he briskly wiped away with his scarlet sleeve. His throat felt dry and swollen, and his voice came out hoarse as he pushed on fiercely, "Well? Tai, is he all right? Please tell me, Tai!"

The chestnut girl nicknamed Tai regarded the man with a somber, almost helpless gaze. "You should go see for yourself, sensei" was her tight-lipped reply, and she hurriedly snatched her coat from the rack and headed for the door. Yao numbly made his way down the hall towards the bedroom, too preoccupied with the burning hatred that flared inside his belly from Alfred's bestiality and the heavy regret that weighed down his heart.

_Why did this have to happen?_

He hesitated at the door, his fingertips brushing against the polished door handle that felt icy at the touch. He swallowed, wishing he had taken a drink of water to quench his parched throat, and slid the door open. What he stared at now made him wish he hadn't.

Kiku lay in a large, white bed. Giant, fluffy pillows surrounded his skinnier than usual frame, making him look even tinier than he already was. It looked like he hadn't eaten in days. The clothes hung loosely on his frame, and Yao could see the bones protruding out of his thin chest. His breath rose and fell in unsteady intervals, and sweat beaded on his forehead, causing the black hair to cling damply to it. The younger brother's face was blotched with an unnatural red color, and dark bags fell under his sleep-depriving eyes.

"Nii-sama..." came the weak reply. The raven's coffee-brown eyes rested on the disheveled, speechless man. "You... you're home early..."

"Kiku, I..." Before he knew it, he felt a wetness down his cheek and realized that tears had sprung to his eyes. "I..."

_I thought you were dead._

But the words were lodged into his throat, and he could only manage a small hiccup as the tears became more prominent and flowed heavily. He vigorously wiped at his eyes with the scarlet sleeve, embarassed to have this sloppy demeanor in front of his younger brother.

_Why... why am I acting this way?_

Aiya, this is embarassing...

"Nii-sama?"

"Kiku..." whispered Yao. "I..."

_I couldn't keep my promise to you._

"Nii-sama... stop doing this to yourself. Please..." A bout of coughing racked the small man's body.

"Kiku!" Yao immediately snapped into realization and hurried up to the ailing raven's trembling side. He grabbed a ragged towel and dipped it into the bowl of water that lay on top of the nightstand and delicately placed it on his younger brother's sweaty forehead.

"Nii-sama..." Kiku whispered between gasps of breath. "Stop... hurting yourself like this..."

"Shh, you shouldn't talk," Yao murmured in a soft voice. His hand lightly brushed the damp black hair that stuck to the raven's face. "It's okay, Kiku..." His fingers caressed the raven's unnaturally rosy cheeks. "I'm here now. Your brother's here, aru."

Kiku managed a feeble smile. "I-I'm okay, really, Nii -" But yet another rack of coughing cut him off.

Yao sat on the edge of the bed, his head lowered. "I can't believe it had to end up like this... That bastard."

"P-please don't blame Alfred-san..." Kiku whispered through gasps. "I'm sure... he meant well..."

"Meant well? That fucking excuse of a damn country almost killed you! And when your wounds from the bombs had healed... I thought everything would be better again. It would all be okay. But then... then you came down with this awful sickness..." His voice trailed, and his fists were balled so tight his knuckles turned white. "...Dammit."

"...Nii-sama... please stop..."

"This whole war was just a terrible idea. You'd think that the first one would knock some sense into everyone. I guess we're all just power-hungry bastards that thirst for blood."

"Then... why'd you..."

"Why did I join the Allied Forces?" Yao sighed and unclenched his fists. "...I guess I had no choice."

"...Nii-sama?"

"Yes, Kiku?" Yao asked gently to his brother.

"Could you... please tell Ludwig-san and Feli-chan that... I'll be resigning from the war..."

Yao slid up the bed until he leaned against the ailing raven's side, and gently stroked his soft, ebony hair. "Of course, Kiku. I will. Now you should go to sleep."

"...And Nii-sama?"

"Yes?"

"Please... don't worry about the war... I'm sure it will end soon."

"...Yes, I'm sure it will," Yao murmured. "It will all be over." He kept fondling with the raven's hair until the small man's eyes slid shut, and his thin chest rose and sank with a slow, calming rhythm. Watching his little brother sleep, it was then did Yao realize something. Something he should have realized and understood a long, long time ago; years ago. Since that day in the bamboo forest, the day that set Yao's life to a completely new and deviated course. Because there are no boundaries such as war between brothers.

_This time... I will protect you. No matter what._

_And that is a promise._


End file.
